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The interdisciplinary Arts curriculum at Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts places the visual and performing arts within a liberal arts framework, balancing academic study and research with creative experimentation and practice. It also advances The New School's traditional commitment to cultural inquiry and civic engagement, considering the arts as a powerful tool for promoting social awareness and effecting progressive change.

This video shows one example of Arts students engaging with their creative work, offering a behind-the-scenes look at From the Fire, Lang's theater production in spring 2011, a musical commemoration of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

The Arts curriculum also encourages students to think creatively beyond the traditional categories. Lang Arts majors focus one of the four arts disciplines—Contemporary Music, Dance, Theater, and Visual Studies—or the independently designed concentration Arts in Context. At the same time, Lang students explore the connections and gaps between the arts. Central to the Arts program is a distinctive set of interdisciplinary courses, the Lang Interarts (LINA) curriculum. The LINA curriculum features discussion-based seminars and practice-based studios that bridge disciplinary boundaries and allow for exploration of the arts from broader conceptual and cultural perspectives.

Lang’s central New York location provides unparalleled opportunities for undergraduates studying the arts. The city offers a wealth of cultural resources of all varieties: theater and dance performances, opera and classical music concerts, jazz and popular music events, commercial and avant-garde cinema, world-class museums and cutting-edge art galleries, lectures, literary readings. Students can take advantage of these opportunities through "out-and-about" courses such as Arts in NYC and Lang at the Guggenheim. Students also rehearse and perform at venues such as New York Live Arts and La MaMa Experimental Theater. Arts students are active throughout the city as interns, gallery assistants, writers, DJs, and club promoters.

Lang Arts faculty members bring to the classroom their own experience and expertise as innovative artists, musicians, actors, directors, and scholars. They are regularly involved in exhibitions and performances locally, nationally, and internationally. Professors often collaborate on interdisciplinary courses and events with other divisions of the university. In addition, Lang invites distinguished visiting artists and guest presenters each year to work with students in master classes, workshops, and public presentations such as the ArtWorks series.

The New School has an illustrious tradition of innovation in the arts and has been home to prominent creative figures such as Martha Graham, Erwin Piscator, Henry Cowell, and John Cage. Today the university offers a wide range of arts courses to Lang students. Many courses at Parsons The New School for Design are open to Lang students, and the Extension Division of Mannes, the university’s classical music conservatory, the Jazz and Contemporary Music program, and The New School for Drama also offer a range of courses and performances.

After graduation, many Lang students pursue advanced study in their fields and go on to careers in professional ensembles and companies, arts foundations, and publishing firms. Lang Arts graduates have a strong liberal arts background that enhances their potential for rewarding careers and their development as creative, articulate, and informed citizens.